Design a Vinyl-Listening Room
Now that music enthusiasts are spinning vinyl records again, listening rooms are in vogue. These spaces can give you a place to crank up your favorite tunes, store your collection, and display your favorite vinyl art. Use these tips to create a space that matches your groove.
Get some vinyl
Before you can design a spot for enjoying vinyl, you’ll need some records. You can purchase them new from multiple retailers or hunt for used ones online or at garage sales and thrift stores. You might have friends or relatives who have old record collections they’d be willing to share, but keep in mind that some vintage vinyl can fetch thousands of dollars.
Pick a spot
The next step to creating your record retreat is choosing a suitable location, such as your family room, an extra bedroom, or even a small corner of your home if space is limited. If you want to share your musical haven with others, you may need a bigger area, but if you’d prefer a personal retreat, a private room or even a tiny nook may work. Ideally, your setup should be away from noises and distractions that could mar your listening experience. Also, for this reason, a room with a door you can shut may be ideal.
Get a turntable and speakers
You could buy an affordable all-in-one suitcase-type turntable kit with built-in speakers for playing your records, but audiophiles say these entry-level record players, which often have a fixed stylus that can’t be replaced when it wears down, are likely to scratch your records and ruin your vinyl. It’s best to spend a little more on a better-grade turntable with a needle that can be replaced and a built-in preamp to make connecting your turntable to your speakers easier. To spend less money on your setup, you could look into purchasing a used turntable.
Add storage
To keep your records in top condition, store them upright in their original sleeves and jackets rather than laying them flat or stacking them, which can warp or damage them. You could put your turntable in an album cabinet or a wooden crate, and perhaps add a bookshelf or desktop album organizer to hold more vinyl.
Accessorize
To keep your records in good condition, consider getting a record-cleaning kit. You also may want to use headphones with your turntable, but to do so, you might need a headphone amplifier or a receiver with a dedicated headphone output. Most vinyl enthusiasts don’t recommend listening to vinyl with Bluetooth headphones, which will digitalize your music. But if you’d like to use Bluetooth headphones, you’ll need a Bluetooth-enabled turntable or a Bluetooth transmitter.
Improve the acoustics
It’s important to carefully consider the acoustics in your space because the sound from your stereo system can bounce off bare walls and other hard surfaces and negatively impact your listening experience. So try to add materials to absorb some of these sound waves. You could hang long noise-reducing drapes behind your speakers or add a thick floor covering like a colorful shag rug. Even a row of bookcases filled with your records can help reduce some of the sound reflection in your space. Potted plants can also improve the acoustics while freshening the air.
Get comfy
Comfortable seating will allow you to relax when listening to your favorite tunes. For example, a midcentury-modern chair can impart a vintage look, while a sectional sofa can provide room to stretch out. Or you could simply add some big floor cushions to make a comfy sitting area.
Build ambience
Finally, add some finishing touches. You can display your vinyl cover art in clear album frames hung on a wall, make your room light and bright by painting your walls white, or go for a relaxing atmosphere with a darker hue. Try washing your space in color, or dim the lights by fitting a lamp with a smart LED light bulb.